11: Unexpected Confederate
After packing General Isamu Watanabe’s uniform and some of my other things into a small backpack, I zip it close and slide the straps over my shoulders. Then I slip my ankle boots on and stoop to pick up the general’s briefcase. I’m dressed all in black again, and I have everything I need for my excursion aboveground.
Once I’m ready, I begin looking for Devin. I walk along the corridors and make my way towards the library. As soon as I step inside, I see Devin at her usual table. There are others from the headquarters inside as well, with each person minding their own businesses.
Seated next to Devin, however, are Juliette, Warner and Kishimoto. They’re dressed more casually today in jeans, cotton shirts, and flip-flops. Surprisingly, the attire suits Kishimoto well (up until this moment, I’ve never seen him wear anything other than his military-prescribed uniform). He’s wearing a plain, light blue shirt like the other two, with both sleeves rolled up—exposing his military tattoos. I notice that he’s shaved today.
Warner’s presence, on the other hand, is still commanding and slightly intimidating, even when dressed in this manner. From the reports I’ve read, I know that he used to be the commander of Sector 45. But I wonder why he doesn’t have the standard tattoos, just like every other military personnel working for the Reestablishment? Even General Watanabe and Lieutenant Fukawa have them.
One of his flawless arms is casually draped across the back of Juliette’s seat. Although her upper limb is still cast in a sling, she looks better today; well-rested. And so do her companions.
They’re all seated, with books and maps spread out on the table before them. There’s an almost holy kind of silence to the room, with an undercurrent of hushed murmurs from the four of them.
Juliette is the first to see me. When she smiles and waves me over, the other three set down their reading materials to look at my approaching figure.
“Hey, Violet.” Kishimoto grins and nods at me appreciatively. “Black is definitely your color. It’s mine, too, just so you know. We must be soul mates.”
“You’re going somewhere?” Juliette asks.
I nod. “I’m returning to the base.”
“Oh. Are they going with you?”
“They?” I blurt out in confusion.
Juliette nods towards someone behind me, and when I look over my shoulder, I see Kim seated in a wheelchair with Gupta right behind him. Kim’s warm, brown eyes meet mine. The sight of him immediately fills me with a sense of awkwardness, and I’m almost certain that we’re both thinking about the last time we met.
“You know, you look familiar.” Juliette purses her lips in thought as she eyes Kim speculatively.
“Kim was part of the team assigned to rescue you.” Devin clarifies, then addresses Kim and Gupta. “Since you’ve never been formally introduced before, these are Juliette Ferrars, Aaron Warner, and Kenji Kishimoto. Everyone, these are Kim and Gupta.”
“I remember now.” Juliette’s eyes widen is surprise, then her gaze drops to his missing leg. “You were on the jet that day.”
Kishimoto’s face clears as recognition sets in. “You’re the guy with the force-field.”
Warner rises respectfully. “We are greatly indebted to you, Kim. If it weren’t for you and the others, we wouldn’t be alive today.”
YOU ARE READING
Transform Me (A "Shatter Me" Trilogy Fanfiction)
FanficSYNOPSIS After Juliette Ferrars takes over Sector 45, she spends the next five years liberating the other sectors, until the whole continent of North America is almost entirely free from the Reestablishment. Their resistance gave hope to the other...
